Jade at the Champs

by Amy Brown

  ‘If you’ve forgotten anything, send me a text,’ her dad called, as Jade hopped on her bike. She was too jittery to kiss him goodbye.

  Mr White had already attached the float to the ute, and was loading Pip’s tack into the boot.

  ‘Nice and clean!’ he said to Jade, holding up Pip’s bridle. ‘Abby never kept her tack in such good condition when she was riding. The corner of the brow band was always white with sweat and dust.’

  ‘Thanks for getting everything ready,’ Jade said. ‘That should be my job.’

  ‘You’ve still got a pony to groom and plait.’

  Pip was down the back of the front paddock, grazing in the shade of the Granny Smith apple trees. Her tail flicked a fly away from her hock, and she looked up with pricked ears as Jade called her name.

  In the yard, Jade assembled a bucket of clean water and her grooming kit. She flicked dust out of the body brush with a curry comb, then dipped the brush briefly in the water before rubbing it in firm, massaging strokes over Pip’s neck, shoulder, side, back and rump. With her thin, shiny summer coat, and no mud in the paddock, Pip didn’t take long to groom.

  ‘Black ponies get such a satisfying shine, don’t they?’ Mr White said, admiring Jade’s work. ‘Her legs and feet look OK?’

  Jade had checked for heat and lumps in the shins and tendons, and cracks in the hooves, and fortunately found nothing. ‘She’s fine,’ Jade replied.

  ‘Can’t be too careful in this weather,’ Mr White said ominously. ‘Last night I saw her shifting from foot to foot, but it must have just been the flies annoying her.’

  Mr White’s pessimism irritated Jade, who was nervous enough without having to worry about Pip’s soundness. ‘I’ve decided not to plait,’ Jade said sharply.

  ‘All ponies look better plaited,’ Mr White replied.

  ‘Not when I’ve done the plaits. I’ll just pull her mane and comb it with water.’

  ‘You’re the boss,’ Mr White said, ‘but you know what Pony Club prefers.’

  ‘I’m not being lazy!’ Jade snapped. ‘I just think plaits look stupid!’

  Mr White stopped himself from laughing, knowing that Jade’s nerves were getting the better of her.

  ‘Well, if you’ve finished sprucing Pip up, pop on her travel sheet and boots, and we’ll get her in the float.’

  At the corner of Station Road, Jade remembered that she’d left her whip behind. ‘I hardly ever have to use it, so it’s not worth going back for,’ she said. However, as they drove away, Jade worried that this would be the one day she’d need a whip.

  ‘You can borrow Becca’s if the worst comes to the worst,’ Mr White said, glancing at Jade’s tight, pale face. ‘Put on that Lulu CD, would you? I think we need cheering up.’

  At the pony club grounds, Jade hopped out to open the gate. There were two floats behind Mr White, so he pulled over inside the gate while Jade held it open for the others. In the first was David O’Connor, a seventeen-year-old with a lovely piebald horse. Jade smiled at him and his mum as they thanked her for holding the gate.

  Amanda Nisbet and her mother were in the next vehicle. Mrs Nisbet smiled faintly at Jade as they drove past, but neither she nor Amanda said thank you. Over the ramp of their float, Jade saw not the red bay rump of Amanda’s pony Aurora, but the blue roan goose rump of a new horse. Although Jade quietly suspected she was a better rider, she was relieved to be competing in a younger age group than Amanda and this new animal.

  Jade was about to shut the gate when a huge green-and-white truck, covered in dust, appeared in the distance. Wondering whether she’d feel guiltier shutting the gate on the truck, or making Mr White and Pip wait even longer, Jade dithered. In the end she waited. The driver slowed, and the passenger wound down the window as they passed.

  ‘Thanks very much, Jade!’

  It was Michaela Lewis, showjumping team coach and selector, and her daughter, Kristen. Jade beamed with relief. She’d chosen an excellent time to be courteous.

  In the grounds, they found a park in the shade, next to Becca’s truck. Becca already had Dusty saddled, and was mounting as Jade backed Pip out of the float.

  ‘Am I late?’ Jade asked, frowning.

  ‘No, I’m just early,’ Becca replied, sounding equally tense. ‘Dusty’s in a bad mood, and I thought going for a big walk around the grounds might calm him down.’ Dusty did a dramatic shy at a plastic bag that was blowing across the paddock. Becca grabbed a handful of mane.

  ‘See?’

  Unkind as it seemed, Jade couldn’t help relaxing a little, seeing Becca and Dusty just as nervous as she and Pip. No, she thought, Pip isn’t nervous. In fact, she’d been particularly co-operative this morning. Saddling up swiftly, Jade and Pip accompanied Becca and Dusty on their walk. There was still an hour before the trials for the junior team would begin, and Becca’s mum had already collected both of their numbers from the registration office, the pony club shed.

  Keeping away from the fence line that the pony club shared with the new ostrich farm, the girls attempted to walk on a loose rein, although Dusty was determined to canter sideways, which made Pip jog like a much younger pony.

  ‘This is ridiculous!’ Becca squealed, regaining her stirrup after a massive shy. ‘What was that even for, Dusty?’

  ‘I think he saw a golf cart through the trees,’ Jade said gently. ‘Shall we walk in the middle of the paddock from now on?’

  ‘Ostriches booming at us on one side, and golfers hitting balls at us on the other! Has anyone ever complained about how hazardous the Flaxton grounds are?’ All Jade could do was giggle. Fortunately Becca started laughing, too. During the past few weeks, pony club members and parents had done little else but complain about the ostrich nuisance.

  ‘I know Dusty would quieten down if I was calmer, but I’m just so nervous,’ Becca said.

  Jade knew exactly what she was talking about. And so did Andy, whom they soon met at the practice jumps. She was looking pale but determined.

  ‘Did you see that?’ she asked in a small voice.

  ‘See what?’ Jade asked.

  ‘Good. Piper just refused that straight-bar and I fell straight over her head. It wasn’t even a bad baulk — just a naughty I’m-testing-you thing. I wasn’t riding confidently enough. Anyway, I just slid off. And your cousin,’ Andy said to Becca, ‘he couldn’t stop laughing.’

  ‘Hubris,’ Mr White said, handing Jade and Becca their numbers.

  ‘What?’ Andy asked, baffled.

  ‘Hubris,’ Mr White said, smiling. ‘Arrogance — pride before a fall, so to speak. It’s Greek. And it’s what Ryan is suffering from. Now, let me hold your ponies while you go and walk the course. Michaela’s designed it herself, so it’s tough but fair.’

  ‘Oh no — there’s a triple!’ Becca cried, pointing at the three red-and-white jumps lining the far side of the ring. ‘That’s the one thing Dusty hates.’

  ‘And it gets worse,’ Jade said wearily, once they’d walked the rest of the course. ‘The triple’s facing the ostrich farm.’ The girls all shuddered.

  Together, they paced out the strides between the jumps. Jade had learnt from experience that four of her paces equalled one of Pip’s strides. Being a very large pony, nearly a horse, Pip usually found doubles and triples tricky. Jade had to really shorten her stride. This time, though, Jade calculated that Pip would comfortably take one stride in between jumps A and B, and two between B and C.

  ‘It’s alright for you and Pip,’ Becca complained, ‘but this is very long for Dusty.’

  Andy agreed. ‘I wouldn’t be surprised if Piper put three strides in between B and C. Three strides and then a sudden baulk when one of those ostriches flaps its wings.’

  As it happened, Andy and Piper didn’t suffer this fate. On the other hand, Ryan Todd and his pony, Shady, did.

  ‘It’s just like you said,’ Andy told Mr White, admiringly. ‘They were going so well too, until those birds rushed over to the fence.’

&nbs
p; ‘It’s a shame for Ryan,’ Mr White replied. ‘You’re right, they were going well; for once he wasn’t racing around the course. This will be a challenge for him, though.’

  As Michaela’s helpers rebuilt jump C, which Shady had skidded into, Ryan tried to walk his agitated pony in a circle. He was stroking Shady’s neck and shoulder with his left hand, and still holding a fistful of mane and rein in his right. For the first time, Jade felt sorry for Ryan, and also impressed: most of the pony club wouldn’t have stayed in the saddle during that crash; and if they had, some would have blamed their frightened pony, in a nervous rage. No, Ryan had done well to stay calm. Jade silently wished him luck as the bell went and he got a second chance at the triple. Ryan cantered Shady in a wide circle, giving the anxious gelding a good run-up. As they approached jump A, Shady tried to rush, panicked, but Ryan sat back, deep in the saddle, encouraging his pony to judge the stride correctly, not just run madly. This worked for jump A, but meant that Shady’s stride was too short for jump B. Somehow, with an ugly cat-jump, pony and rider managed to make it over, but not without dropping the top rail.

  Shady, a brave but inelegant jumper, had remembered the ostriches and was fighting Ryan now. The pony knew what was expected of him, and wanted to perform well, but at the same time was terrified and wanted to get the ordeal over quickly. With the rail from jump B rolling behind him and the impulse to bolt gradually taking over, even his rider’s skilful attempts to help him find the right stride couldn’t help Shady. Instead of skidding to a halt this time, Shady simply ran straight through jump C, barely even bothering to leap, and hit the top rail with his chest.

  ‘That’s eleven faults now,’ Becca whispered. ‘I can’t believe that ploughing straight through a jump gets you the same faults as knocking just one rail.’

  ‘Poor Ryan,’ Jade said, watching him struggling to stay in control of his pent-up pony. Now that he was facing the other ponies rather than the ostriches, Shady was really pulling. Jade closed her eyes as Ryan rode full tilt at the last jump, a 1-metre wall painted with red bricks.

  ‘Incredible,’ Andy sighed. ‘That pony was pretty much galloping, and he still managed to get the stride right and clear the wall.’

  ‘I had to let him have his head in the end,’ Ryan said with unconvincing nonchalance as he rode over to the girls. ‘It was like we were out hunting.’

  Jade wondered why Ryan had come over to them, rather than to his usual friend, Amanda. She looked over and saw Amanda standing with two girls from another pony club. They were all looking at Ryan and smirking.

  ‘I think you rode really well,’ Jade said quickly, as Ryan was leading Shady back to the horse-trucks.

  ‘Thanks,’ he said, surprised. ‘Good luck. You’ll need it with those stupid birds over the fence.’

  Pip, sensible in her old age, didn’t pay much attention to the ostriches. The only thing bothering her was the heat. With six riders to go before her, including Andy and Becca, Jade found a shady spot and dismounted. Her dad and granddad had just arrived, with a chilly bin of refreshments and two deck chairs.

  Jade sucked nervously on a drink bottle and watched another pony and rider make a mess of the triple. ‘Will we manage it?’ she whispered to Pip, who rubbed Jade’s elbow with her nose in reply.

  ‘Do you want some of this?’ Jade asked, laughing as she squirted a little water at the corner of Pip’s mouth. Most of it missed and hit Jade’s dad, who was sitting on the other side of Pip’s head.

  ‘For goodness’ sake, there’s a trough over by the gate, Jade!’ he said, wiping the water off his sunglasses. ‘Is that Becca riding into the ring now?’

  ‘Oh, yes!’ Jade said, crossing her fingers. ‘I’m almost as nervous as if it were me in there.’

  ‘Well, it will be soon,’ her granddad said helpfully.

  Jade grimaced. ‘Shh, the bell’s just gone.’

  ‘Jade, don’t “shh” your grandfather!’

  Jade didn’t hear, though; her eyes were fixed on Dusty. He seemed to be in good form: ears pricked, stride confident and smooth.

  ‘Oh, I think they’re going to do well,’ Jade sighed. ‘Look how neatly he tucks his knees up.’

  Becca had a fearsome expression of determination as she turned on to the triple. She was clear so far: Dusty hadn’t even touched a rail or looked like stopping. With her heels well down and her reins short — a little too short, Jade thought — Becca sat deep in the saddle and drove her pony forward. They met jump A with perfect timing. Pushing her pony more than usual, Becca lengthened Dusty’s stride, and he cleared jump B with the same finesse. With the momentum of the first two jumps urging him on, Dusty was so focused on the task at hand that he didn’t even notice the strange birds in the next paddock. As he soared over jump C, Jade wanted to clap.

  Turning a little too quickly on to the wall, Dusty’s hindquarters slipped slightly, and for a horrible moment Jade thought her friend was going to fall. Dusty kept his footing, but was distracted. It was only with a jerking, inelegant hop that he and Becca made it over the wall with no faults. ‘That was a clear round!’ Jade gasped. ‘I’m going to go and congratulate them.’

  ‘You’d better give Pip another go at the practice jump,’ Mr White said, legging her up into the saddle and then checking Pip’s girth. ‘Another two riders and you’re on.’

  ‘That was amazing!’ Jade said, trotting over to Becca and her mother. ‘And after all that fuss you made over the triple when we walked the course.’

  ‘I know!’ Becca said, taking off her helmet. Her red hair was plastered to her scalp with sweat and her normally pale cheeks were bright pink. ‘It was Mum who told me that if I went into the ring expecting to have problems at the triple, then I’d almost certainly get eliminated. So, as the bell rang, I just gritted my teeth and said to myself and Dusty: We’re going to have a clear round.’

  ‘If you’re not confident, you can’t expect confidence from your pony,’ Becca’s mum said, patting Dusty’s neck and looking proud. ‘You did well.’

  Andy, who was cantering sideways around the ring, waiting for the start bell, looked like she would need more than confidence to get a clear round. The whites of Piper’s eyes were showing and her back was up. But, when the bell rang and Andy rode her pony between the starting flags, Piper appeared to relax. She was cantering straight now, and, although she took off from a long way back, she cleared the top rail with at least 10 centimetres to spare.

  Becca’s mum whistled. ‘You can see why Andy puts up with all the theatrics when Piper jumps so well. That pony has a lot of talent, if only she’d settle down.’

  ‘Oh, no!’ Becca cried as Piper swerved at the yellowand-black oxer and ran past it at the last minute. ‘Poor Andy.’

  ‘It could be worse,’ Jade said. ‘At least she kept her seat. I don’t think I would’ve stayed on then.’

  Regaining her left stirrup, Andy gave Piper a nononsense smack with the whip behind the girth. The pony raced forward, argumentatively, but Andy managed to turn, without crossing their tracks, back to the oxer. This time she kept her legs on and was prepared. Naughty Piper cleared the jump without any trouble.

  ‘I dread to think what will happen at the triple,’ Becca said ominously. Fortunately her fears were unwarranted: Piper’s agility meant that the long stride didn’t bother her, and she cleared the first two without mishap — but graunched almost to a standstill at jump C when she saw the ostriches.

  ‘C’mon, scaredy cat!’ Andy growled, urging Piper on. Despite taking the jump from a trot, the clever pony miraculously didn’t drop a rail.

  With only the wall to go, Andy had relaxed. She let Piper have her head just a touch too much and the pony’s stride flattened. Piper took off too far out, and this time caught the top rail with her hind legs and brought it crashing down. Hearing the mistake, Andy’s face fell as she cantered through the finish flags. She patted Piper’s sweaty neck apologetically and left the ring looking crestfallen.

  ‘Do
n’t look so down! You rode really well,’ Becca said as their friend approached.

  ‘Not over the last jump,’ Andy replied. ‘Such a shame. Except for that naughty run-out and the hairy moment in the triple, Piper was fantastic. I let her down at the end.’

  ‘Don’t beat yourself up,’ Jade said. ‘It shows how good you are that you realize you made a mistake then. Anyway, I’d better go and have a practice jump. We’re on after the next pony.’

  There was a call over the loudspeaker: ‘Could Number 21 please come to the ring. Number 21.’

  ‘That’s me,’ Jade said, aghast.

  At the gate to the ring, a woman with a clipboard explained to Jade that Number 20 had scratched.

  ‘So I have to go now?’ Jade asked in a small voice.

  ‘Yes; you’re ready?’

  ‘Could I have just one practice jump?’

  ‘Only if you’re very quick — we don’t want to get behind schedule,’ the woman said impatiently.

  Panicked, Jade turned and cantered Pip to the practice jump.

  ‘Sorry, can I go quickly?’ she said, cutting in front of an older girl on a horse. The girl said something rude, but Jade didn’t hear. She cantered Pip at the jump, too nervous to ride well and only hoping for the best. Pip didn’t like being rushed. She stopped and knocked the rails down.

  ‘Oh no!’ Jade moaned, wanting to cry.

  ‘Look what you’ve done!’ the older girl complained. The practice area seemed suddenly full of unfriendly faces. And now her number was being called over the loudspeaker again.

  ‘I’m sorry,’ she said, as someone else’s father had to pick up the rails she’d knocked down. ‘I’m in a hurry.’

  Instead of persisting with the practice jump, Jade patted Pip’s neck, trying to soothe herself and her now-tense pony. They walked back together and entered the ring.

  ‘You ready, Jade?’ Michaela asked at the truck.

  ‘I think so.’

  ‘OK.’ Michaela rang the bell. Jade knew she had thirty seconds to canter around before she had to begin. Trying to forget all sense of urgency, Jade cantered Pip all the way around the ring, letting her look at the ostriches, the wall, the yellow-and-black oxer. When her pony felt happier, she turned towards the flags.